Police looking for Belfast cemetery looters and car burglars

BELFAST, Maine — A recent rash of car burglaries and thefts in Belfast — including thefts of potted plants and memorabilia from graves in the Grove Street Cemetery — are troubling residents and causing the city police chief to ask for help.

“We’d appreciate any help we can get,” Chief Jeffrey Trafton said Thursday afternoon. “We could use more sets of eyes.”

Over the last month, the cemetery superintendent and others have noticed that objects have been disappearing from graves. Those include big, heavy potted plants, solar lights and even some football memorabilia that had been placed at the grave of a football fan.

“It’s just despicable,” Trafton said. “Stealing from someone’s grave — how low can you go?”

He said that should the police catch someone stealing from the cemetery, he will ask the district attorney’s office to “throw the book” at the suspect.

According to the chief, Cemetery Superintendent Steve Boguen believes that the thefts are happening after his crew stops work at 4 p.m. and before dark.